Monthly Archives: January 2011

Bodyguard assassinates Pakistani governor for opposition to blasphemy law

| January 4, 2011

Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab province and a senior politician in the ruling Pakistan People’s Party, was assassinated today by his bodyguard. Reports indicate that Taseer was assassinated for his opposition to Pakistan’s repressive blasphemy laws, which target non-Muslims for perceived slights to Islam. From Dawn: Interior Minister Rahman Malik told reporters that the […]

Iran

| January 4, 2011

Tehran excluded the US and invited Russia, China, and the European Union to inspect its nuclear sites. President Ahmadinejad warned the West to stop its “bullying” or face “defeat.” Tehran could suspend the stoning sentence for an Iranian woman accused of adultery.

Egypt

| January 3, 2011

Security forces said the suicide bomber who attacked a Coptic church on New Years Day was “linked to al Qaeda.” A prominent Egyptian cleric claimed the US and Israel were responsible for the suicide attack.

Al Qaeda

| January 3, 2011

British terrorists ‘offered safe house by al-Qaeda-linked French gangsters’

Afghanistan

| January 3, 2011

The Taliban killed four people in an armed attack in a mosque in Baghlan. Coalition and Afghan forces killed and captured several Taliban and Haqqani Network commanders and fighters in Kandahar, Zabul, Ghazni, Khost, Nimroz, and Kunar. Nineteen Taliban fighters surrendered in Helmand.

Iraq

| January 3, 2011

Insurgents killed two US soldiers in fighting in Baghdad. An assassination team killed six security officials and civilians in Baghdad. Police arrested the commander of Jalawlaa’s Emergency Battalion on corruption charges.

Al Qaeda in Iraq

| January 3, 2011

The Islamic State of Iraq, al Qaeda’s front group in the country, claimed credit for two suicide attacks last week that targeted a senior police commander in Mosul and the provincial headquarters in Ramadi. A senior police commander was killed in the Mosul attack.

Somalia

| January 3, 2011

Somali soldiers mutinied after failing to receive pay. Shabaab held a military parade in Lafole, a former Hizbul Islam stronghold. The governor of Mudug in Puntland survived an IED attack.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula

| January 3, 2011

Nasir al Wuhayshi, the leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, is rumored to have been killed in the Dec. 28, 2010 US Predator strike in North Waziristan. The reports are unconfirmed.

The Taliban

| January 3, 2011

Rumors of the death of Qari Hussain Mehsud, the Taliban’s ‘trainer of suicide bombers,’ have resurfaced after a provincial minister claimed he was killed in an October Predator strike. The Taliban have previously denied reports of his death.

Latest Predator strike rumor: AQAP’s leader killed in North Waziristan

| January 3, 2011

The latest from the Pakistan rumor mill is that Nasir al Wuhayshi, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s top leader, was killed in a Dec. 28, 2010 Predator strike in North Waziristan. From The Associated Press (CNN-IBN is also reporting this): Nasir al Wahishi, a Yemeni national who reportedly served as an aide of al-Qaida […]

Another rumor of Qari Hussain’s death in October Predator strike

| January 3, 2011

Rumors of the death of Qari Hussain Mehsud, the Taliban’s “Ustad-e-Fedayeen” or teacher of suicide bombers, have surfaced again, after a Pakistani provincial minister claimed he was killed in a US Predator airstrike in October. From The Times of India: “Qari Hussain was killed in a drone strike,” Khyber- Pakhtunkhwa information minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain […]

Europe

| January 3, 2011

With Muslims, Europe sees no problem, and that’s the problem

Iran

| January 3, 2011

Tehran announced that the Bushehr nuclear power plant is ready to join the grid. Opposition leader Karroubi offered to stand trial if the government would agree to open proceedings.